Ad Strategy

SBM 338

Lanny Wilke

Your Ad Strategy

A plan of action that defines a goal and suggests tactics for achieving it.

Provides direction for your advertising.

Focuses your efforts.

Five Dimensions of Ad Strategy

Identify the target market Define the product to be advertised Make a promise. (key benefit. Use a verb.) Support the promise with a feature – a

rationale substantiating your claim Describe your tone

Classy, funny, youth-oriented May vary from season to season, but

should not change

Your Ad Strategy will take into consideration….

Your marketing strategy Your media plan The product or service Marketing perceptions Positioning strategy One thought to take away Image advertising versus response offers Your sales cycle The must-have list

Your Marketing Strategy

Address the problem you’re aiming at by defining that problem.Maintaining the status quo is okay

if that’s your goal

Media Plan

What media will you use, how will you use it, and when will you use it?

Ideally, it will be backed up by a media calendar and budget.

The Product or Service

The uniqueness of the product or service you sell will fuel your search for a creative approach.

Looking at the facts about the product accomplishes two goalsHelps to spell out what the product

is and does, and even its shortcomings

Can help you find a dramatic selling slant

Market Perceptions

Perception is reality in advertising. Start from where your customers are,

then move them toward where you want them to be.

Positioning Strategy

Summarized your strategy with regard to target market, key benefits, and competition.

If you are not different from the competition, you still must choose a key benefit to promote.

Challenge: find a rationale to support your claims.

One Thought to Take Away

You want to change perception toward what?

Make sure the ad communicates the key benefit.

Features have no place here-the thought your customers take away must be a benefit they anticipate from purchasing your offering.

Image Advertising vs. Response Offers

Image advertisingAds that communicate a feeling

about your company Response offers

Ads that convey specific news followed by a call for a specific action

Image advertisingAimed solely at creating a shift in

perception.Usually used as part of a larger

campaignAimed at long-term results rather

than immediate measurable response

Expensive

Response advertisingAlso called item or order request

advertising, or the news approachPoses the question: What exactly

do you want your prospect to do?Close with a call to action.Often sweetened with a specific

promise of reward, called the offer.

Your Sales Cycle

Your advertising is just one arc of a great circle that leads customers to your store, fulfills their desire for what you’re selling, sends them away happy, and then brings them back for more.

You need a plan for every phase. You ask for an action, then what? How will you track leads and sales? How will you keep up with the orders?

The Must-Have List

Company & product namesState how your company & product

names and/or logos must be used in the advertising.

Must be used consistently Tagline

State how it is to be used and precisely what the wording is to be.

Repetition

Contact information – be specific. Decide what locations & phone numbers need to be included, and exactly how each must be worded.

Legalities If you have made product claims that

need disclosures or disclaimers, make sure you have the legal niceties taken care of.

Permissions Copyrights Use rights Illustrations or photos Reproduction rights

Ad requirementsDescribe the ad placements you

will contract for. Ad dimensions (height & width

for print; run time for broadcast) Deadlines Other production specs from

each magazine, newspaper, radio station, etc.

Checklist for Ad Strategy

Key benefit defined Supporting rationale defined Tone defined Media plan summarized Product or service attributes

described Market perceptions probed Positioning strategy completed

One thought to take away defined Image or response ad? Have you

defined your offer? Sales cycle considered; response

logistics worked out. Must-have list completed Company name Tagline use

Contact information Legalities and permissions Ad requirements

Design is the topic of our next meeting.